Schaub isn’t ready for prime time

Last night on NBC Sports Network, Pro Football Talk co-host Erik Kuselias broke out a twist on the money line from one of my favorite holiday songs.

“Not too Schaub-y.”

But Texans Matt Schaub was looking shabby on Monday night. Again. As our buddy Nick Wright of 610 SportsRadio in Houston points via Twitter, Schaub has had five performances this year that generated a passer rating of less than 80.

And all five came during nationally-televised games.

The first was on an early October Monday night against the Jets. Schaub completed 14 of 28 passes with a touchdown and a pick and a passer rating of 71.9.

Six days later, during a home-field hammering by the Packers, Schaub threw two picks and no touchdowns en route to a 56.6 passer rating.

Against the Bears on Sunday Night Football in November, Schaub had fewer than 100 yards passing and a rating lower than 43.

And that Thanksgiving Day epic in Detroit didn’t result in an epic passer rating for Schaub; he was still south of 80.

Last night in Foxboro, during the so-called biggest game in franchise history, Schaub finished with a 68.8 passer rating.

The message is that, for whatever reason, Schaub isn’t stepping up when the Texans step on to the big stage. That doesn’t bode well for the Texans come January, especially since Schaub has no playoff experience of his own.

Last year, Schaub was injured when T.J. Yates beat the Bengals at home before giving the Ravens all they could handle in Baltimore.

I always knew the Texans were a fluke they can’t beat anybody with a powerful passing attack & a good pass rush they barley beat my poor lions who has a good passing attack & a good Dline sometimes

starfan79 says:Dec 11, 2012 9:17 AM

And this guy is leaps and bounds a better qb than Romo? If not for Foster this team would be about 3 losses deeper and maybe more. The QB play is no better than what’s in Dallas, SFO, Chicago or any other team.

Meh, Schaub is a Brad Johnson style game manager. But at least he usually knows who he is, and knows his job is to get the ball to Foster. By contrast, Joe Flaccid is a game manager who thinks he is a superstar. Baltimore is the better team with more weapons, but Flaccid holds them back. Houston has overachieved to this point: a good but not great team. The Atlanta Falcons of the AFC.

In the end, Tom Brady and Payton Manning will destroy these teams and meet in the AFC final. These superstar quarterbacks will easily outperform the game managers Schaubby and Flaccid.

I dont get this guy, he throws for over 500 yards one game and the next hes playing like David Carr did when they first became a team. Houston will be knocked out the 1st game they play in the playoffs.

How about Schaub won’t ever be ready for Prime Time. I’m from Houston and a lot of people here are and have been in total denial about this guy. He’s great at beating bad teams but when he faces a good D he falls apart and loses games. People here like to ignore that he’s the weak link. The Texans aren’t winnning a championship until they move on from Schaub and I doubt they’ll do that until the window closes for them.

southpaw2k says:Dec 11, 2012 9:40 AM

You gotta wonder if the Texans will offer him a long term contract after this season, considering he will be a free agent. I guess that mostly will depend on how far through the playoffs the Texans go.

It could also be that prime time games are usually between two teams that were good last year (and likely still pretty good). So Schaub has less than stellar performances against good teams might be a better conclusion…

Wow! This team is STILL 11-2. Geez… How about giving that Patriots Defense a little credit! Pass rush and tackling were very good and Brady TORCHED JJ Swat and that defense. When your behind 21-0 that early, running the ball (which is what they do best) becomes very difficult. Pats are for real. A rematch would be a very different game.

The overreaction after one game as always is staggering. Remember the last time the Patriots beat an up and coming team in a monster game on a Monday Night? When they whipped the Jets, you know, the same Jets team who would knock them out of the playoffs the same season?

One game, remember that. Or are we crowing the Panthers world champs for beating the team with the NFLs best record? In that case, the Chiefs are galatical overlords since they beat the Panthers. Take it easy everyone.

dieterlaser says:Dec 11, 2012 10:12 AM

I think the defense showed they weren’t ready for prime time. I know the injuries piled up in the secondary, but Brady went to town on the entire D. Throw in the Texans’ OL looking like garbage, unable to give Foster lanes and Schaub a consistent pocket, and you can see why the Pats are the better team right now.

albertmn says:Dec 11, 2012 10:13 AM

To be fair, a nationally televised game is more likely to be against a good team. A game vs KC wouldn’t be a national game. Not saying that explains everything, but all but the truly elite QBs will usually struggle against better teams.

I think that the Texans record is a little deceiving. Actually, does anyone think the team with the best record in either conference (Falcons & Texans) is the BEST team in their conference? I don’t think many would say that either team has the best chance to reach the SB. We will see how things play out.

As a Texan fan, I know my team and this is what you should know. It is not Matt Schaub alone. Gary Kubiak is a terrible playcaller who has a limited playbook that elite coaches like Bill Belichick figure out quickly. Kubiak’s playcalling consist of run Arian then screen to Arian with a few passes to Johnson and an occasional pass to Daniels with no passes going over 15 yards.
Gary Kubiak would have been fired if Wade Phillips was not the defensive coordinator. Compare Kubiak’s record before Wade Phillips was hired and after. There is a huge difference. I do not think Wade Phillips needs to be the head coach but the Texans need a new, more aggressive offensive strategy.The Texans need to take the offensive playcalling job away from Gary Kubiak. The Texans should sign a good veteran #2 wide receiver to give the offense another weapon, I would take Terrell Owens at this point and also, hired Norv Turner as the offensive coordinator next season.
I agree that Schaub is not ready for primetime but neither is Gary Kubiak. Examine Gary Kubiak’s playcalling last night and it was pathetic.

weepingjebus says:Dec 11, 2012 10:27 AM

Face it, Gillette is where careers go to die. 10 bucks says Rex Ryan watched the MNF game with a haggard look on his face and a fifth of Jack cradled in each arm.

dalucks says:
Dec 11, 2012 10:18 AM
As a Texan fan, I know my team and this is what you should know. It is not Matt Schaub alone. Gary Kubiak is a terrible playcaller who has a limited playbook that elite coaches like Bill Belichick figure out quickly.

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If you think that then you are delusional. Kubs play sheet is, and always has been HUGE. They even noted last night in the ridiculous amount of words Gruden says during the broadcast. The thing is the size of a poster board front and back. That is not limited.

He threw for all those stats when the Texans didn’t make the playoffs in prime time!!! It’s not his fault that Kubiak didn’t fire def. coordinator Frank Bush when Bush was prematurely promoted anyways!!!

That Primetime stuff is overrated because Arron Rodgers was doing great in primetime in 2010 when the defenses he faced were very crappy.

He never even won a playoff game before he won his first Super Bowl.

Primetime does not matter. Also, enough people watched him get a piece of his ear taken off In Denver.

Plus, it is not his fault That the major broadcasters only give primetime games to the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys and teams who don’t deserve it like the Philadelphia Eagles And the New Orleans Saints without Sean Payton!!!!

If you shrink his sample size how is he going to prove that he can do well in primetime???

If you give players like Aaron Rodgers, Michael Vick, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford all of the opportunities how can Matt Schaub prove that he can do well in prime time???

The whole primetime platform garbage. It is about the type of defenses that you face. If he can carve out the best defenses and, he has proven that he can, he will be fine!!!

Oh yeah. Apparently the Houston Texans were unable to come back when in a deficit. Look what happened against the Detroit Lions On Thanksgiving. After that game the Lions have been in a down spin ever since.

I’m a huge Texans fan. Gary Kubiak needs to hire an offensive coordinator stat to stop the bleeding. His play calling was way to conservative last night and too many 3 and outs last night. You are not going to beat the Brady Bunch like that. The Texans will not go deep into the playoffs with Coach K calling plays!

@Texanperry………..I completely agree.
@randyschwimmer7……..Who cares how big Gary Kubiak’s playsheet is when he only calls the same 15 plays a game off the sheet? The Texans only have 1 threat in the passing game which is Andre Johnson with a few 5 to 10 yard routes to Owen Daniels along with a few swings and screen plays to Arian Foster. Kubiak has the same lame scheme every game. It works against the Titans and Jaguars but not against the Patriots.
Also, once again. Kevin Walter has more drops than receptions in a big time game. Just like last season in the playoffs against the Ravens.
I know you are probably one of those Texan fans who are just happy to have a NFL team in Houston but the Texans have been in existance for 10 years now so it is past time for moral victories.

peoplesfrontofjudea says:Dec 11, 2012 12:47 PM

I am sure I was not the only person who said midway through the first quarter…”Oh %^&*, this sure feels like a repeat of the Green Bay game.”

Schaub was off all night. Yes, I could gripe about play calling some, but Schaub’s ineffectiveness was the root cause of most of it. Couldn’t move the chains on 3rd down. Couldn’t keep the defense off the field. Of course the defense had its own problems getting off the field early, a la the Green Bay game

CKL says:Dec 11, 2012 12:58 PM

whitemike55 says:
Dec 11, 2012 9:53 AM

Do we need to remind people the Patriots LOST TO THE CARDINALS????
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And your team just LOST to a team that lost to the Cardinals!!! Holy non sequitur, Batman!

I respect the Houston team. I like a lot of their players, and I also respect how Kubiak and his players handled the loss postgame. They have a lot of talent and are a solid squad. Every team has a “momma said there’d be days like this” game here and there. What will be more important than the “L” is how they handle this loss…do they use it as a springboard (as the Pats did with their ugly loss to Seattle) or does it tank them? I think Hou is tough enough to bounce back, especially after what they went through last year.

Most of us have known this for awhile. The whole Texan team isn’t ready for primetime. Just like Atlanta, neither one is a serious Super Bowl contender even though they both have the best conference records. Houston plays in a pretty weak division and greatly benefitted from Manning moving on.

Schaub is simply the latest version of Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson. Problem for him is that his defense isn’t as good as theirs were, despite having more offensive weapons, and he shares the conference with great QB’s, which those two did not.

The Texans should have done anything to sign Manning in the off-season, but now will probably watch while he’s playing in the AFC championship game or Super Bowl, while they saved a few bucks and lose their first playoff game.

The Texans are still in position to finish with home field advantage so he’ll have plenty of opportunities in the postseason to prove if he’s ready for primetime. A regular season loss against New England in Foxboro doesn’t mean Schaub, Foster, or Houston’s D is suddenly garbage. It just wasn’t their night.

Face it, Gillette is where careers go to die. 10 bucks says Rex Ryan watched the MNF game with a haggard look on his face and a fifth of Jack cradled in each arm.
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As long as they don’t face the Giants, that is.

richwizl says:Dec 11, 2012 8:58 PM

Patriots vs Seahawks in Super Bowl 47.

htown1035 says:Dec 12, 2012 1:30 PM

To be honest, how many “prime-time” games have the Texans been in since Schaub has been there? Not many, since they’ve been pretty mediocre during their history. This is the first year they’ve actually been in prime-time more than once, maybe twice, in their history.